bottom of the hour now welcome back everyone. i'm randi kaye. >> i'm victor blackwell. thanks for starting your morning with us. here are five stories we are watching this morning. >> sources tell cnn that president obama is likely to nominate republican chuck hagel as defense secretary next week. hagel is a former senator from nebraska who retired in 2009. the president has called hagel a patriot who is doing an outstanding job as a member of the white house intelligence advisory board. but critics have noted that hagel has opposed sanctions against iran and the surge of troops in iraq under the bush administration. >> venezuelan officials say president hugo chavez has a severe lung infection and is, quote, fighting for his health right now. despite rumors the 58-year-old won't be able to be inaugurated to his fourth term next week, vice president nicholas medoro

says his runningmate can always take the oath at a later time. and take a look at this. this is the picture that was posted to facebook and appears to be a passenger restrained with duck tape and zip ties. it's from an iceland air flight. the airline says a disruptive male passenger on a flight to new york was hitting, screaming, and spitting at other passengers all while yelling profanities. when the flight landed in new york the man was arrested and taken to a local hospital. alcohol is believed to have been a factor here. >> wow. lance armstrong's fall from grace continues. the "new york times" reports that he is contemplating publicly admitting that he doped. sources tell the paper he is considering an admission because he wants to persuade antidoping officials to allow him to get back to professional cycling. at the time sources, unnamed associates, doping officials in its report but armstrong's attorney tells cnn his client is not in talks with the u.s. or world doping agencies.

you may recall armstrong was stripped of his seven tour de france titles and banned for life last year after the u.s. antidoping agency found there was overwhelming evidence that he was part of a sophisticated doping program. triple-a reports the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline rose 0.3 cents to approximately $3.30 a gallon. the highest prices are in hawaii, $4. but overall the national average is down 81.9 cents. that's nearly 20% and the record high of $4.11 back in the summer of '08. be brave. fight for freedom. but keep one bullet for yourself. >> i joked that i have -- i always keep one bullet left in my gun for myself. >> yes. you must keep that. you keep it for yourself. it's better than if the regime catches you. i guarantee that for you. you must keep one bullet.

>> compelling video you're seeing for the first time on cnn. it's video shot by american matthew van dyke, who traveled with syrian freedom fighters in aleppo. he recently returned from his time there and he joins us now live from washington. matthew, thank you, first, for sharing the video and spending some time with us. >> thank you for having me. >> first question here, you immersed yourself in this bloody conflict in this war torn country why? i mean, why did you do this? >> i strongly believe in the cause of the syrian people. i fought in the war in libya in 2011 and saw the effects of what we accomplished and i want syrians to have freedom as well. >> there are a few moments i want to go over after watching the excerpt that you shared with us. there is a plomoment with one o the interview subjects. she spoke nonchalantly about the rape and torture of a friend. first let's watch and then we'll talk about it after. >> my friend has been arrested

for so long. last week received that she is dead because she was tortured by -- raped -- i don't know. i just don't want to think about that. it makes me sick. i'd rather die. really. i'd rather die than let them have me for five minutes. >> i would rather die. and there is another portion here where you asked her after she sees the man being killed, why is she here and fighting? she says, why should i die cheap? i could be in a kitchen washing dishes. why should i die cheap? so much violence here. is this the new normal there? >> yes, it is. and it's a shame, you know. noor is a young woman. she was 24 when i filmed her. she is going to spend her 20s in war. this war will likely go on for years. and the regime is not just women

that they rape. they've raped men, women, and children. it's been documented. you know, it's become so commonplace and not shocking to them that noor can speak of it, you know, it's sad but she is strong enough to get through it. >> about a month ago a secretary general of nato said syria's government is approaching collapse. were you there and do you agree with that? what do you think? is that the case? >> no. i don't believe that's the case. the regime is still quite strong. the regime controls damascus, they are quite well in control. they control half of aleppo the city i was in. the regime is not in danger of collapse. it could take two or three years. >> you were walking through the streets of aleppo with a man in an area that typically would be packed with people. i want to play another moment here. you're with this man. he put it into terms americans understand. let's watch that. >> you know what it means, the center of the city?

can you imagine one street like that? this is the heart of the city. it is very bad when your heart stops. >> the heart of the city stopped. he stays's bad when your heart stops. how are people there surviving day to day? >> well, there's parts of the city that look like that. there are parts that are abandoned. there's just a few old abandoned cats wandering around. there are other parts where people are staying in the city. they're struggling. you know, there are shortages now in winter of even basic things like bread, electricity has gone down, water is not working. life is increasingly miserable. trash piling up in the streets. but they're making it through it. >> it is interesting that you said old men and cats. there was a moment where that man walks up to a cat and he says, and i wrote it down here, he says, maybe americans care about this cat more than the

syrian people. if you put four or five cats on youtube it'll get a million hits. they care more about the cat than they do our people. how do the syrians view america's decision thus far not to intervene in syria? >> they're a little bit shocked, disappointed. they thought after libya that help would be coming to them. they don't understand. they feel abandoned. they feel abandoned to their deaths and largely they're right. it's sad and during my time in syria i was constantly asked why doesn't america help? i didn't have good answers for them. i tried to make excuses for policy decisions but in the end, there is no excuse for it. >> matthew van dyke, an amazing piece of video you put together and shared with us and we can share with our audience. thank you so much also for sharing the story. >> thank you. and back here at home, the u.s. supreme court will decide who becomes the parents of a 3-year-old native american girl. i'll speak with the adoptive parents who are fighting her father for custody. # s a second...

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. welcome back. 39 minutes past the hour now. a custody battle over a 3-year-old girl known as baby

veronica has been brewing for years. in all that time i've been right there covering this complicated case. it all began back in 2009 before veronica was even born. her biological mother decided to put her up for adoption and that is when the capobiancos stepped in to adopt her. just four months after they brought veronica home her biological father dustin brown filed for custody after he legally waived his parental rights. now a little known federal law from 1978 called the indian child welfare act allowed him to do so because brown is part cherokee and a member of the cherokee nation, which means little girl veronica is part cherokee, too. the law is designed to keep indian children with indian family members and protect the interests of those children. just this week the u.s. supreme court decided to step in and hear the adoptive parents' appeal. they're joining me on the phone now to talk about the high court's decision. good morning to both of you. what a rollercoaster this has been. you had veronica for a couple of

years and then the supreme court there in south carolina where you are decided to have her be handed over to her biological father based on this law. first of all your reaction to the news that the u.s. supreme court is going to hear your case. what did you think when you got that news yesterday? >> it was just unbelievable. we weren't sure what to expect. it was a low chance and we just feel really extremely happy that they decided to hear it. >> matt, did you get any sleep last night? >> not too much, no. i kept looking at the clock and realizing it was later than i needed to be up. but just really excited, you know, restored some hope and a little faith in the judicial system. >> yeah. certainly too early to know exactly what is going to happen but why do you think this case deserves to be heard? why do you believe it doesn't fit under the umbrella of the

dian child welfare act which was designed in 1978 to try and keep the indian children in indian homes, melanie? >> veronica was always a part of our home from birth and we just felt like she was in a happy place and that those kinds of needs could have been met through us. i just don't think that was what congress was thinking about when that act was passed and so many american and native children were being removed from their homes just like veronica was being removed from our home. >> matt, she wasn't removed from an indian home, correct? >> no. she wasn't. and we certainly would have never deprived her knowing anything about, you know, her indian heritage. or we never would have deprived her knowing that side of her family if they had ever asked to know her. but, you know, we wouldn't

deprive her knowing her mexican heritage either or, you know, any part of her heritage. she is multi racial. and she is just a beautiful little girl and she's our daughter and we love her. >> she is beautiful. no doubt about that. in this case as i mentioned it was a nonindian mother who initiated the adoption and she may not have been fully forthcoming with social services and the adoption agency that the girl's father was cherokee. she also had sole custody, right, of the little girl because dustin brown had signed away his rights. how important is that detail do you think, melanie, to the outcome in this case? >> i think it is very important but we just got accepted and i think the lawyers are going to hash that out. we just, you know, know that we feel like it was misused in this case and regardless of the -- of that particular issue, she was

happy and loved and under state law she would have stayed with us. >> yeah. >> absolutely. >> i know the hearing is supposed to take place. the court is supposed to take this up in april, mid april, and then you may not have a decision until june. so what will the next six months or so be like for the two of you as you wait to know if you're going to get your little girl back? >> wow. >> we'll be biting our nails. >> i mean, just the last year has been so hard and at least now we have some hope and it's going to probably -- it's been a rollercoaster and i'm sure it'll continue. >> i know you have only had a chance to speak with her once. any hope, matt, you'll have another phone call with veronica? >> there's always hope. i don't expect it. >> we would love that. >> we would love that. but, you know, me and melanie, we're just -- we've been really strong together and been a united front and we're just going to have to remain that way

and do what's best for our little girl. >> i know when i was at your home you have all her toys and things still laid out. i know you're hoping she'll be able to come home to them and we'll continue to watch this and check in with you as well. matt and melanie capobianco thank you both so much and best of luck. >> thank you, randi. >> thank you. a man who answered an ad on craigslist for sperm now being hit up for child support? an interview with him next.

all right. about 12 minutes to the top of the hour now. let's take a look at some of the stories we're watching this morning. >> venezuelan officials say president hugo chavez has a severe lung infection and is, quote, fighting for his health right now. despite rumors the 58-year-old

won't be able to be inaugurated to his fourth term next week. vice president nicholas meduro says his running mate can always take the oath at a later time. 155,000 new jobs were added last month according to the newest jobs report released yesterday. unemployment remained flat at 7.8%. 2012 still managed to end the year on the positive side. more than 1.8 million jobs were added last year. immigration and customs enforcement have arrested two people they say are linked to several child porn cases. i.c.e. released this wanted poster of the suspects labeling them jane and john doe. now officials say from tips they arrested the woman in the l.a. area and the man in tucson all part of the federal crackdown on child pornography called operation sunshine which brought in more than 200 suspects. a california who plans to propose an assault weapons ban has responded to an i-reporter, a former marine who refuses to register his guns.

joshua bosston says if a ban goes into place, he will continue to keep his weapons off the books. a registry will one day lead to governme government. her proposed ban would keep the rights of existing gun owners. joshua boston will speak with me live 10:45 eastern time this morning. a kansas man thought he was doing a good deed, answering an ad on craigslist. for the sperm donor, it's turned into a legal nightmare and now he is being asked to pay child support. earlier i spoke with merada and his attorney. i started asking the question most people have, how he even found the ad in the first place. >> perusing craigslist, like window shopping, looking around, and ran across an ad that was asking for a sperm donor.

for what reason, answered the ad. >> you answered the ad and found out it was a lesbian couple who wanted to conceive. when you approached them, when did you find out there would be no doctor involved? >> i didn't know that there was no doctor involved. >> so from start to finish until you got this information from the state, you did not know that no doctor had been involved with this conception? >> correct. >> ben, william signed a contract with the women. what is your argument for the legality of this contract? was there an attorney involved with this? >> there was no attorney involved in the contract at all. argument for the legality is that at the time the contract was entered into, there was no child and the rights of the child were not bargained away. it cannot exist before conception. >> if you are found to have to,

after this lawsuit or after this effort to get you to pay child support, you have to pay child support, will you then go after visitation rights and fill out the role of father? >> no, because i'm not her parent. that's jennifer and angie. >> marotta has asked that the case be thrown out. a hearing has been scheduled for next week. it's a bird! it's a plane! wait, what the heck is that thing? some people think it's superman.

the top cnn trends on the web this morning. >> an early contender for dunk of the year. this is nasty.

oh, look at that. the knicks j.r. smith spinning reverse, alley-oop last night at madison square garden. i believe it was the night before last when we saw this. it brought the crowd to their feet. that is just unbelievable. >> you're into that. >> it was a great dunk. knicks win that game over the spurs. >> all right. gan gangnam style, that is so 2012. >> it really is. >> so is, right? will 2013 be the year of the one-pound fish? ♪ come on ladies come on ladies ♪ >> oh, yeah, i'm liking this. 31-year-old catapulted to fame in his home of pakistan with "one more fish" hocking snapper at queens market in london. >> and so you like this? >> i do.

feeling it. >> psy says he doesn't want to sing gangnam style anymore. >> instead of what? what's his other hit? >> he has nothing. >> "one pound fish" okay. was it one small fbi for neil armstrong? >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> a new documentary suggests that armstrong may have lied when he said he ad libed that famous line when he became the first man to step foot on the room. in a recent interview, armstrong's brother claimed that he thought up the famous line months before the july 16th apollo mission and that he was supposed to say a man not just man. some people were shocked when they thought they saw superman flying over the coast. here's jeanne moos.

>> he may look like a man of steel but he's actually the man of lightweight foam. actually his top speed is 30 miles an hour. but the sight of superman flying above the california coast was enough to make a cyclist stop and shoot it. the video went viral. and now people are wondering -- >> look up in the sky. it's a bird! it's a plane! it's superman! >> a sensation on the local news. >> the big question, where do they hide the propeller? >> it's not nice to laugh at superman. we'll show you on the female version, super girl. >> there's a propeller. >> with an electric motor and battery that goes on her head. about a dozen of these remote control figures have been built, former air force test pilot with a long career in aviation. he even customized